Community Centred Conservation (C3)

ISSN 1754-5188
C3 TECHNICAL REPORT SERIES NO. 2
KOROR STATE MARINE TOUR GUIDE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM: Results of Stakeholder Consultations
A report submitted to Department of Conservation & Law Enforcement Koror State Government
Community Centered Conservation 2003
Community Centered Conservation (C3) 2003 Community Centered Conservation (C3) is a non-profit company registered in Palau on 22nd April 2002. The work described in this report has been supported by Koror State Government. Suggested citation: Community Centered Conservation (C3) (2003) KOROR STATE MARINE TOUR GUIDE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM: RESULTS OF STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS. A report submitted to the Department of Conservation & Law Enforcement, Koror State Government. C3 Technical Report Series No. 2. ISSN 1754-5188. Community Centred Conservation, London, UK. 21pp.
FOR MORE INFORMATION

Community Centered Conservation (C3) Community Centered Conservation (C3) P.O. Box 1206 Koror, Republic of Palau 96940 www.c3belau.org Koror State Government Department of Conservation & Law Enforcement P.O. Box 116 Koror, Republic of Palau 96940 Phone: (680) 488 4001/8738 Fax: (680) 488 2862 rica@kororstate.org
Rock Islands Conservation Area, Palau
KOROR STATE MARINE TOUR GUIDE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM: Results of Stakeholder Consultations
Patricia Z.R. Davis & Colby M. Kearns Community Centered Conservation (C3)
Koror 2003
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report is the culmination of the advice, cooperation, hard work and expertise of many people. In particular, acknowledgements are due to the following for their contributions: COMMUNITY CENTERED CONSERVATION (C3) Project Manager: Patricia Davis Project Officer: Colby Kearns KOROR STATE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION & LAW ENFORCEMENT for their support throughout the consultation stage ALL TOUR OPERATORS, GUIDES AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS who took the time to fill out questionnaires and meet with us during the interview process MAKI AND OA for translating the questionnaires and responses into and from Japanese and Taiwanese
Healthy coral in the Rock Islands Conservation Area
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In order to design an appropriate certification course for marine tour guides operating in the Rock Islands area, C3 conducted stakeholder consultations using questionnaires and interviews. In June 2003, questionnaires in appropriate
languages were sent to 25 marine tour companies in Koror State and informal interviews were requested with guides from 10 of these companies.
Thirty-six questionnaires were completed by guides from 18 of the tour companies approached, and nine companies were able to attend face-to-face interviews. The primary conclusions of the consultations were: (1) most operators appeared to be supportive of the certification course; (2) guides agreed with the proposed sections of the course, with many stating that a course manual would assist them in answering commonly-asked questions; (3) the course materials should be available in Japanese and Taiwanese; (4) optional CPR and First Aid training should be offered as part of the course; (5) the maximum course length should be 2 weeks with individual sessions lasting no longer than 2 hours during the evening in the low tourist season. Further comments from the questionnaires and suggestions from the interviews will be incorporated into the final course content.
As a result of these consultations, the main sections of the Marine Tour Guide Certification course have been identified and stakeholders concerns and suggestions taken into consideration.
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.2 Justification 2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 3. METHODS 3.1 Questionnaires 3.2 Interviews 4. RESULTS 4.1 Questionnaires 4.2 Interviews 5. RECOMMENDATIONS 6. REFERENCES 7. APPENDICES 7.1 Stakeholder list 7.2 Questionnaire 1 1 1 3 4 4 5 6 6 11 12 13 14 14 16
Sunset in the Rock Islands Conservation Area
Community Centered Conservation (C3)
Koror State Marine Tour Guide Certification Program: Results of Stakeholder Consultations
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND The Koror State Government is currently developing a comprehensive management plan for the Rock Islands-Southern Lagoon Area of Koror State, Palau. The purpose of this management plan will be to provide a framework that will protect and retain the environmental integrity of the Rock Islands-Southern Lagoon Area. One of the key threats to biological diversity within the area is recreational activity associated with tourism. To reduce negative impacts caused by tourist-related activities, the management plan will identify a number of specific strategies, one of which will be the development and implementation of a tour guide certification program for all marine-based tour guides working in Koror State. Currently, tour guides do not receive any formal local training about Palaus unique and fragile environment or the importance of minimizing visitor impact on the area. Although some tour guides may provide an environmental briefing to their customers, there is a need to ensure that accurate information is consistently imparted by all tour companies. In June 2003, Koror State contracted Community Centered Conservation (C3), a local nonprofit environmental research & education organization to develop the course contents for the certification program. The first stage in this project was to identify all relevant stakeholders in government, the tourism industry and non-government organizations who would have an interest or direct involvement as contributors, participants or implementers of such a course. This report summarizes the results of consultations with these stakeholders. 1.2 JUSTIFICATION The number of visitors to Palau has significantly increased in recent years from only 4,000 per annum in the 1980s to 50-60,000 per annum over the past 5 years (Palau Visitors Authority pers comm). More than half of these visitors come specifically to dive and most of their diving and other marine-based activities are concentrated in the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon Area. The number of tour operators has concurrently increased to meet this demand. There are now approximately 30 marine tour operators licensed to work in Koror State.
Page 1 of 21
To operate in Koror State waters, a company must possess a current Koror State business license, a Foreign Investment Board license (in the case of foreign ownership) and a Tour Operators license from the Palau Visitors Authority (PVA). Despite these requirements, there is no formal training offered to tour guides; this is left to each individual company. Some companies provide water safety and first aid training to their staff, but few provide environmental and/or cultural information about Palau. The development of a national and/or state marine tour guide certification program has been discussed a number of times over the past decade by Koror State Government, PVA and the Palau Community College. In 1994 a voluntary tour guide training workshop was coordinated by Mrs. Ann Kitalong of The Environment Inc., a local environmental consultancy firm (Kitalong
1994). The workshop comprised of four main sections: Safety, Environmental Awareness,
Cultural Awareness and Customer Service, with fourteen presenters from industry, government and non-governmental organizations. The workshop was attended by 19 guides and was deemed a success. It was recommended that such training be repeated at least once a year. However, the course was not repeated, although the training materials remained as a useful source of information for future courses. Two subsequent studies of Palaus dive industry and Taiwanese tour industry (Palau Conservation Society 1999, 2001) recommended the design and implementation of a certification program for guides, with particular reference to best environmental practices. Information relating to the development of certification programs for marine tour operators is very limited, not only in the context of Palau, but worldwide. Although such schemes do exist, they are, on the whole, voluntary in nature. Few countries, if any, currently have compulsory national or state-level certification courses for marine tour guides. Countries with voluntary certification schemes include Hawaii (Interpret Hawaii) and Belize (National Tour Guide Training Program; Christ et al (2003)).
Page 2 of 21
2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The goals of the certification program are to: ensure that all marine-based tour guides working in the Rock Islands-Southern Lagoon Area attain a minimum level of knowledge about the marine environment, cultural significance of the area, and ecologically-sustainable tourism practices; encourage tour guides to follow best environmental practices; raise awareness of the cultural and ecological value of the area among visitors and locals and provide the tourism industry with a mechanism for environmental quality assurance.
The completed course materials will form an appendix to the Rock Islands-Southern Lagoon Area Management Plan. It is envisioned that when the curriculum is developed and the program is operational, it will serve as a model for other state programs or be adopted nationwide. The aim of this study was to conduct stakeholder consultations (Stage 1) in order to identify the structural components of the certification program. The results from this investigation are detailed in this report and will form the basis and direction for the following stages in the design of the course materials detailed below: Stage 2: Literature research in the following areas: culture environment legislation marine tour operator responsibilities and existing certification programs implemented in other countries.
Stage 3: Collation of information attained from consultations and literature review to develop the curriculum for the tour guide certification program Stage 4: Development of a student instructional manual and instructor notes for the marine tour guide certification program
Page 3 of 21
3. METHODS
In June 2003, C3 compiled a list of all marine tour operators (Appendix 1) based in Koror State by combining information from Palau Visitors Authority and Koror State Department of Conservation & Law Enforcement with recently-established operations that were listed in the telephone directory. All companies offering marine-based activities were included on the list but boat charter operations were excluded as they provided transportation throughout the Rock Islands area but did not focus on tours per se. Two methods of collecting information were employed: (1) a questionnaire sent out to marine tour guides and (2) interviews with a representative sample of operators. 3.1 QUESTIONNAIRES A pilot questionnaire was designed in English and translated into Japanese and Taiwanese. The questionnaires were sent out to six randomly-selected companies; two English, two Japanese and two Taiwanese. Each company was asked to have two of their guides fill out the questionnaire, which was then collected a week later. A few areas of misunderstanding or misinterpretation resulted in minor alterations to some questions. Two copies of the final questionnaire (Appendix 2) were sent out to each of the 25 operators on the stakeholder list (Appendix 1). The main sections are summarized below: The first section of the questionnaire asked for details about the company and the guide, the activities offered, the guides experience in the industry both in Palau and elsewhere, their ethnic background and language fluency. The second section dealt with the customer the average group size, ethnic background of customers, levels of experience, topics included in briefing, methods of education and questions asked by the customer. The last section asked for comments or suggestions regarding the development and content of the course.
Page 4 of 21
3.2 INTERVIEWS Ten companies were randomly selected from the stakeholder list with a representative sample from each language group. Interviews were held with at least one member of staff, usually a guide or a manager who also led tours. Interviews were informal and opinions and suggestions were sought on the following topics: 1. Marine Environment - level of knowledge needed fish, corals, coral bleaching events, customers interests 2. Palauan Culture / History - contemporary culture, ancient Palau, World War II, traditional dance 3. Legislation / Regulation - familiarity with current legislation and designated zones, information needs 4. Marine Tour Operators Responsibilities CPR / First Aid certification, responsibilities to other tour groups, customers and the environment. 5. Certification Course Schedule & Materials - suggestions concerning timing / length of course and handbook / lectures etc., any other suggestions regarding information that should be included in the course, any concerns about tour guide behavior.
Page 5 of 21
Traditional Palauan costume
4. RESULTS
4.1 QUESTIONNAIRES 4.1.1 Marine Tour Operator Profile Questionnaires were completed by guides from 18 out of the 25 companies approached and the total number of respondents was 36. Activities The majority of operators contacted offered diving and/or snorkeling, over one-third offered kayaking, but Taiwanese companies were the only operators to offer other marine-based activities, including Boat/Jet ski, Sea Walk, Parasail and Banana Boats (Figure 1).
Diving Snorkeling Kayaking Activity Boat / Jet Ski Banana Boat Parasail Sea Walk 0 20 40 60 80
% companies offering activity

Figure 1. Percentage of companies offering each marine-based activity
Page 6 of 21
Tour Guide Experience Most guides questioned (70%) had less than 10 years of overall experience in the industry (Figure 2). Approximately half of the guides interviewed had less than 6 years of work experience in Palau and 20% had more than 11 years of experience in Palau.
40 35 30 % of guides 25 20 15 10 5 0
0-5 years 6-10 years 11-15 years 16-20 years 21-25 years 25+ years
Number of years experience

Figure 2. Levels of experience of marine tour guides
Dive Certification Level of Guides Three quarters of guides questioned held a professional diving qualification (Table 1) and therefore were internationally certified to lead groups of recreational divers.
Table 1. Diving certification levels of marine tour guides
CERTIFICATION LEVEL Dive Instructor Divemaster Advanced Diver Open Water Diver Boat Driver None
% GUIDES 47 28 14 3 5 3
Page 7 of 21
Ethnic Background of Guides The majority of tour guides were Japanese, followed by Palauans and Taiwanese (Figure 3).
Taiwan 11% USA 3%
China 3%
Palau 22%
Japan 61%
Figure 3. Ethnic backgrounds of marine tour guides
Guides Language Fluency Most guides (75%) were able to speak Japanese (Table 2), followed by English (55%) and Palauan (27%). Over half of guides were bi- or tri-lingual.
Table 2. Languages spoken by marine tour guides
LANGUAGES Japanese only Trilingual (Palauan, Japanese and English) Bilingual (Taiwanese and English) Bilingual (Japanese and English) Bilingual (Palauan and English) English only
% GUIDES 45 19 14 11 8 3
Page 8 of 21
Average Tour Group Size The vast majority (78%) of the tour companies specialized in small tour groups of less than 10 clients (Table 3).
Table 3. Average tour group size
GROUP SIZE Small (0-10) Medium (10-25) Large (25+)
% GUIDES 78 11 11
4.1.2 Customer Profile Customer Ethnicity Most marine tourists were Japanese, followed by European and American (Figure 4).
Japan Europe Nationality USA Taiwan Palau Australia Israel 0 20 40 % Companies

Figure 4. Nationality of marine tourists served by the companies questioned
60
80
Page 9 of 21
Customer Experience 94% of all the tour operators in Palau serve customers who are experienced in the activity they undertake, meaning they have experienced it at least once before. All tour operators receive questions from their customers concerning the marine environment and 78% indicated that customers often or always ask questions on this subject. All of tour operators receive questions from their customers concerning the laws and rules that apply to the Rock Islands area and 67% indicated that customers often or always ask questions on this subject. Only one tour operator indicated that they did not receive questions from their customers concerning the culture and history of Palau and of the remaining operators, 70% indicated that customers often or always ask questions on this subject. 4.1.3 Education Media All companies questioned provided oral information to their customers, around half used paper brochures and booklets; only 6% employed video (Table 4).
Table 4. Education media employed by marine tour companies
MEDIUM OF EDUCATION Oral Paper Video
% COMPANIES 100 56 6
4.1.4 Certification Course Materials in English Of the Japanese respondents, 56% would prefer the certification course materials to be translated into Japanese. 60% of the Taiwanese guides would also like the materials translated into their language.
Page 10 of 21
4.2 INTERVIEWS Nine out of the ten companies were able to attend face-to-face informal interviews. Some of the most frequent comments were: All companies agreed that information was needed on the following topics: marine environment, Palauan culture/history, legislation/regulations and tour operator responsibilities. No additional sections for the course were suggested. All companies agreed that the course should be held in the low season, e.g. June Some thought that 2-hour sessions for five nights (7-9pm) were acceptable, while others would prefer 1.5-hour sessions over the course of two weeks. Many guides thought that combining all regulations applicable to the Rock Islands area in one manual would be useful.
Page 11 of 21
Diving in the Rock Islands Conservation Area
5. RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the results from the questionnaires and interviews, most operators were supportive of the certification course, realizing the need for minimum levels of knowledge among tour guides in order to ensure best environmental practices were adhered to within the tourism industry. However, there were some concerns about the course being implemented at the state, rather than at the national level. Guides agreed with the proposed sections of the course, with many stating that a course manual which provided information relating to: the environment, Palauan culture and history and Rock Islands legislation would assist them in answering commonlyasked questions. A high proportion of operators are currently catering to non-English-speaking clientele and a significant proportion of guides questioned were not fluent in English. Therefore there is a need for the course materials to be available in Japanese and Taiwanese to ensure that all guides have the opportunity to attain the same level of knowledge. Although 75% of the guides questioned were certified as Divemasters or Dive Instructors, and had therefore completed safety training, all guides interviewed agreed that optional CPR and First Aid training should be offered as part of the course. This would provide the opportunity for guides to renew previous certification or to be certified if their company did not already provide this service. The majority of guides interviewed requested that the course be held once or twice a year, in the low season, between 7pm and 9pm. The maximum course length should be 2 weeks with individual sessions lasting no longer than 2 hours. Further suggestions from the interviews as well as the comments from the questionnaires will be incorporated into the course content.
Page 12 of 21
6. REFERENCES
Christ S, Matus S, Palacio V (2001) NATIONAL TOUR GUIDE TRAINERS PROGRAM: TRAINERS MANUAL. Genesis Arts, Belize City, Belize Interpret Hawaii. HAWAIIS SEA GRANT WEBSITE: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/SEAGRANT/30th_Anniversary/building_institutions/hawai'i_ma ritime_center.html#interpret Kitalong (1994) TOUR GUIDE WORKSHOP FINAL SUMMARY REPORT. The Environment Inc. July 1994 Palau Conservation Society (1999) PALAUS TAIWANESE TOURISM INDUSTRY: ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE. Palau Conservation Society Palau Conservation Society (2001) DIVE TOURISM IN PALAU: RESOURCE USE, VALUE AND MANAGEMENT. Palau Conservation Society
Page 13 of 21
Abai traditional meeting house
7. APPENDICES
7.1 STAKEHOLDER LIST Questionnaires were sent to the following marine tour operators: Dive/Tour Operator A-Way Marine Entertainment Antelope Aqua magic Blue Marlin (UBDI) Carp/Palau Diving Center Cruise Control Daydream Dive Palau Fish N Fins IMPAC Lesson Two Palau Sport Long Rainbow Happy Tours Neco Marine Corp Ocean Hunter Pacific Divers Oasis Palau Aggressor II Paradise Divers Planet Blue Kayaks Power Passion Club Pro Dive Palau Rock Island Tour Co., Ltd. Sams Tours Southern Marine Divers SPLASH Water World Palau 4130 1573 1062/5305 2345 2600 ext. 485 3826/3979 Phone 2947 1059/2077 1119 2214 2978 6691 3551/2199 3548 2637 3779/5079 1120/1125 3240 2009/1755 2637/1070 6960/514 6075/6076 5008 1062 Japanese English Taiwanese Japanese Jap/Eng/Palau English/Palau Jap/English Jap/English Korean/English Taiwanese Japanese Jap/English Jap/English Jap/Eng/Palau Jap/Eng/Palau Jap/Eng/Palau English/Jap English Japanese Jap/English Taiwan/English English/Jap English Japanese
Page 14 of 21
Organizations asked to submit suggestions via email: Organization Palau Visitors Authority Belau Tourism Association Palau International Coral Reef Centre Bureau of Marine Resources Environment Inc. MAREPAC Palau Conservation Society Palau Community College (Tourism) -Vicky Maui Maritime Safety Koror State Rangers Red Cross Society Environmental Quality and Protection Board Belau National Museum OEK Senate Chairman of Committee on Tourism Division of Conservation and Entomology Department of Education Department of Public Safety Bureau of Arts and Culture The Nature Conservancy Office of Environmental Response and Coordination 2487 2952 2423 2489 2017 6950 Phone 1930/2793 4377 6952 5395 587-3451 N/A 3993/4716 2470/2471 2559 2150 5780/5781 1639 2841
Page 15 of 21
7.2 QUESTIONNAIRE (English, Japanese, Taiwanese)

Marine Tour Guide Certification Program Questionnaire Koror State Government is taking steps to develop a certification program for all marine tour guides as part of the Rock Islands Management Plan. As part of the developmental process a questionnaire has been distributed to various organizations, businesses, etc. that will play a pertinent role in the successful development of the program. Your active participation in the questionnaire process is requested in order to ensure that each party is given the opportunity to allow their questions, concerns, and comments to be heard. Please answer each and every question in an honest manner, as all results will be kept completely confidential. The information obtained through this questionnaire will facilitate the development of the program and the overall management plan. Thank you for your time and cooperation. Employer name Position/Title Activities Supervised: Please check all that apply Diving Snorkeling Other (explain): Years of Experience Overall: Years of Experience in Palau: Level of Dive Certification (if applicable): Ethnic Background: Please check one Palauan American Other (explain): European Taiwanese Korean Japanese Kayaking Boat/Jet Ski
Page 16 of 21
Language Fluency: Please check all that apply Palauan English Korean Taiwanese Japanese Other (explain):
What is the average group size for your activity? Please check one Small (0-10 people) Medium (10-25 people) Large (25+ people) What is the ethnic background of the majority of your customers? Please check: Palauan American Other (explain): Please list the ethnic background of the other customers? European Taiwanese Korean Japanese
Level of In-Water Experience of Customers: Please check the one that applies to most Experienced Beginner Do you provide customers with education in the following: Please check all that apply: Marine Environment How often do you get questions about these topics? Never Palauan Culture/History How often do you get questions about these topics? Never Often Sometimes Often Sometimes
Legislation/Rules/Regulations of the Marine Environment
Page 17 of 21
How often do you get questions about these topics? Never Other (explain): What method of education do you use? Please check all that apply Talk/Lecture Papers/Pamphlets/Leaflets Video Other (explain): Often Sometimes
Would you feel comfortable if the course materials are provided in English? Yes No
Please use the space provided below to make any additional comments or suggestions regarding the development and content of the course. Please feel free to speak openly as your information will contribute to making a better working environment for you and your customers.
Please feel free to make any comments and/or suggestions regarding changes or additional information that should be included in this questionnaire in the space provided below.
Page 18 of 21
Page 19 of 21
12
Page 20 of 21
Page 21 of 21

Community Centred Conservation (C3)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Community Centred Conservation (C3)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Community Centred Conservation (C3)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ISSN 1754-5188

C3 TECHNICAL REPORT SERIES NO. 2

Community Centered Conservation 2003

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Rock Islands Conservation Area, Palau

Healthy coral in the Rock Islands Conservation Area

Sunset in the Rock Islands Conservation Area

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Traditional Palauan costume

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

% companies offering activity

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Number of years experience

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Taiwan 11% USA 3%

Figure 3. Ethnic backgrounds of marine tour guides

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

GROUP SIZE Small (0-10) Medium (10-25) Large (25+)

Japan Europe Nationality USA Taiwan Palau Australia Israel 0 20 40 % Companies

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

MEDIUM OF EDUCATION Oral Paper Video

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Diving in the Rock Islands Conservation Area

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Abai traditional meeting house

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

7.2 QUESTIONNAIRE (English, Japanese, Taiwanese)

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Legislation/Rules/Regulations of the Marine Environment

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

Community Centered Conservation (C3)

You might also like